Darren McAullay’s call of the 2017 Winterbottom Stakes, a race that the owner of prized mare Viddora, Nick Lovett, will never get tired of hearing. Nick was part of the Llyod Kennewell-prepared sprinter’s Victorian ownership and at Ascot that day to watch her claim the $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom… Read More »
Brent Thomson was a fresh-faced New Zealand-based 17-year-old apprentice when he made his first appearance on Australian soil at Moonee Valley. It was Cox Plate Day, 1975, and the weather was atrocious, so much so the meeting was abandoned after the running of Moonee Valley Cup, but not before Thomson… Read More »
Moonee Valley course curator Marty Synan is expecting a fair track across the board when the club hosts 18 races in 24 hours on the weekend. Friday night kicks off with an eight-race card, highlighted by the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup, while on Saturday a further 10 races will… Read More »
Chris Waller will give Via Sistina every chance to play her part in this Saturday’s $5 million Cox Plate, despite a trackwork mishap at Tuesday morning’s Breakfast With The Best session. The last-start Turnbull Stakes winner tossed rider James Mcdonald and then galloped multiple laps of the Moonee Valley circuit riderless after a… Read More »
Anode will be given another chance to prove himself at 1600 metres this Saturday, when the I Am Invincible colt lines up in the Callander-Presnell at Randwick. The $1 million Group 2 will be the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old’s first start at the trip this campaign after two runs… Read More »
The Ciaron Maher stable will chase a first win in the Geelong Cup with Herman Hesse and Interpretation in line for honours. The Group 3 contest over 2400m on Wednesday is one of the few staying feature races run in Victoria that has eluded Maher who secured a second Caulfield Cup when Duke… Read More »
Apprentice jockey Sophie Mitchell celebrated her first career win at Penola on Monday, guiding All Beans to victory in a Benchmark 64 handicap. After 19 winless rides since her debut in August, Mitchell took a positive approach from the barrier aboard the $3.80 favourite, trained by Justin Pickering, and led… Read More »
Caulfield Guineas placegetter Evaporate is poised to be among the final acceptances for the $5 million Cox Plate, pending a successful workout on Tuesday morning. Co-trainer Ben Hayes confirmed that if the three-year-old performs well, Evaporate will likely become the seventh confirmed runner for the prestigious race. Originally slated for… Read More »
Champion jockey James McDonald found himself unexpectedly dismounted from Cox Plate hopeful Via Sistina during trackwork at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning. The pair were preparing on the track in front of a sizeable crowd when a piece of equipment appeared to malfunction, leading to McDonald slipping off the side… Read More »
Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins is expected to travel to Melbourne to watch his two Melbourne Cup runners Absurde and Vauban prepare for the ‘Race That Stops The Nation’ at Flemington. Absurde and Vauban, who both ran in the Melbourne Cup last year, finish their quarantine period on Sunday, but are expected to… Read More »
Pride Of Jenni will not be there when the Moonee Valley Racing Club hosts its annual Breakfast With The Best session on Tuesday morning, but Ciaron Maher is confident she will be there on Saturday. The trainer of arguably Australia’s most popular horse reported on Monday morning that she had recovered… Read More »
I Wish I Win, who finished last in The Everest, has come through the race without any major injury, according to trainer and part-owner Peter Moody. X-rays on the horseâs off fore-leg, knees, fetlocks, and feet revealed no significant issues, despite some initial concern. “Heâs a little bit jarry in… Read More »
Jamie Kah will reunite with The Map in Wednesdayâs Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m), using the race as a final lead-up to next monthâs Melbourne Cup. Kah, who has previously ridden The Map to two wins and a narrow placing in the Adelaide Cup, has opted to ride Point King… Read More »
Michael Hawkes is convinced a wide draw cost Swiftfalcon in the Gloaming Stakes but the trainer is confident the promising gelding is on song for his attempt to go one better in the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick. Swiftfalcon is poised to get his first chance to chase a Group 1… Read More »
Melbourne Cup favourite Jan Brueghel arrived at Werribee safe and sound last Saturday night with no idea of the task ahead of him come the first Tuesday in November. Aidan O’Brien, head trainer of Ballydoyle Stables, may not have had a better chance to win his first Melbourne Cup, with Jan… Read More »
Circumstance did not work out for Broadsiding in the Caulfield Guineas, but Godolphin trainer James Cummings has not lost faith in the colt heading towards the Cox Plate. It is 40 years since Red Anchor completed the Caulfield Guineas â Cox Plate double while more recent three-year-old Cox Plate winners had been… Read More »
Warmongerâs quest for Melbourne Cup glory has been cut short, with the Queensland Derby winner sent to the paddock following his eighth-place finish in Saturdayâs Caulfield Cup. OTI Racing director Terry Henderson confirmed on Sunday that the decision to end Warmongerâs spring campaign was made to avoid overextending the promising… Read More »
Joe Pride and Proven Thoroughbreds are amazed at how Think About It came through Saturday’s traumatic experience, but that won’t affect their planning with the gelding. Proven announced on Sunday morning that last year’s The Everest winner had run his last race. Think About It had many holding their breath when he… Read More »
As the 58th International Federation of Hotse Racing Conference was such a âgame changer,â its now home of the incoming IFHA Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Crime. Held at the Paris St-Cloud Racecourse on 7 October, it was the Asian Racing Federation who advised that the ARF Council on… Read More »
Billed as a showdown between bold frontrunner Pride Of Jenni and Sydney star Fangirl, the King Charles III Stakes has instead proven a happy hunting ground for rising star Ceolwulf. The last-start Epsom Handicap winner turned giant-killer at Randwick, doing what many horses before him have been unable to by mowing… Read More »
